The Buzz: A non-profit volunteer, Yates has been an election judge for eight years. She has taken a sabbatical to run for the 6th District. For 29 years, she has volunteered at a non-profit group of homes for the elderly in New York and Broofield, Ill. At the group, she was a board member for 10 years and the state president for four years. Yates has worked in London for five years as a secretary to the president of a chemical company as well as a trade union.